


Thunderstorms are a Normal Fear

by moretrash



Series: Dads of Marmora [25]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Comfort, Dads of Marmora (Voltron), Regris is a good big brother, Sound Blocking Headphones, Thunderstorms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-13 21:09:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14756348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moretrash/pseuds/moretrash
Summary: Keith never thought he'd have to admit that he was scared of thunderstorms.A planet with the worst storms possible changes that.





	Thunderstorms are a Normal Fear

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of a prompt from guardianofsillvennium on tumblr:
> 
> "I've got another prompt for you. Keith and Thunderstorms. I personally love them but I know they can scare others, even causing them to panic and lash out or run away and hide. Take it for what you will."

Keith was no stranger to thunderstorms. The Garrison was located in Arizona, which was on the receiving end of monsoons from the end of summer to mid-autumn. The monsoons often went on for hours, accompanied often by thunder and lightning, or occasionally hail. Being a student at the Garrison for several years and living in the surrounding desert for a year after that had made Keith experienced when it came to dealing with thunderstorms.

The blades were staying on a planet for a few days to settle an alliance with the inhabitants. Sure, Keith had his pack with him, but it was hard to sleep. This building wasn’t his nest, it wasn’t his room. It didn’t have the same comforting scents of his pack that covered the nest. Apparently, the scents were much stronger and more comforting to a full Galra. Keith couldn’t even smell them just after the nest blankets were washed. After days of building up, though, he could just faintly smell it. And he couldn’t smell it at all when he tried to directly smell his pack. The urge to do so made Keith feel uncomfortable on every level. He wasn’t even sure if that was a normal thing for Galra.

Apparently, it was, but Keith’s sense of smell was too weak to pick up on the unique scents when he did act on the urge. It was still comforting, though.

A awful sounding thunderstorm was raging outside of the building, flashes of brightly colored lightning illuminating the makeshift nest every so often. Thunder on Earth could make a house with a well-built foundation shake slightly, so Keith was also no stranger to the shaking of thunder, considering the state of his desert shack. But the thunder on this planet sounded like an explosion was happening just next door and made even the best-built buildings shake like there was a small earthquake. 

Keith supposed he shouldn’t be scared, considering how used to thunderstorms he was. But he was scared. He had always been scared of thunder, ever since he was a child. Lightning was nice to look at, but it was always accompanied by thunder, which wasn’t great.

At the Garrison, once Shiro found out about his fear, Keith would walk down the hall to Shiro and Matt’s room, where he was welcomed with open arms, sound-blocking headphones, calming music, and a hug. At his desert shack, he would wrap himself in a fort of blankets to muffle the sound a bit, simply riding out the storm.

But now? He sat on the dark for the most part, the occasional lightning illuminating the room where his pack’s nest was arranged for the night. Everyone else was asleep, unphased by the loud sounds. Keith couldn’t bring himself to wake someone for comfort. What if they thought he was pathetic? Was it normal for Galra to be scared of storms?

Yes, he knew that thunder had a natural explanation and really wasn’t as scary as it seemed, but he couldn’t help that fact that he whimpered and jumped every time thunder boomed outside. Tears welled in his eyes as another clap of thunder shook the room.

Spotting a pile of unused blankets in the corner of the nest, Keith slipped under it to muffle the sound. It was stifling under the blankets, and he couldn’t breathe all too well, but it was fine for Keith. It muffled the sound just a bit, so Keith was content to lay under the blankets as tears slipped down his face, smearing over his cheeks and chin. 

-

Regris was slightly scared of thunderstorms. He wasn’t the biggest fan of loud noises in general, so it was fairly expected of him. It had gotten better, though, after he joined the blade of marmora. Even before he was accepted as a member of his pack, Antok or Kolivan would always be there to reassure him. Sound-blocking headsets were a simple fix for the thunder, and he enjoyed watching lightning.

When the thunderstorm had started up on the planet they were visiting, the adults instantly pulled Regris into the center of their clump, a pair of sound-blocking headsets placed over his ears as the first clap of thunder had sounded off. Regris was sure that he had seen Keith jump in more than just surprise, but he brushed it off and fell asleep, intent on sleeping through the worst of the storm.

He shouldn’t have brushed Keith’s reaction off, though, he now realized as he woke up to a sob of fear. The headphones had slipped off of his ears at some point during the night, but the thunder wasn’t as bad as it had been at first, so it was more manageable for him. Upon first glance, Regris couldn’t find Keith anywhere, which scared him to his bones. What if Keith had ran off because he was scared? It was a large building, so what if Keith got lost? What if he was curled up somewhere, terrified and confused, hoping for his pack to find him?

A flash of lightning soothed his fears when he saw a lump of blankets that was almost vibrating because the body-shaped lump under it was trembling so hard. Regris knew it was Keith, for no one else in the pack was that small when curled up.

He got up and carefully made his way to the blanket pile, moving aside the blankets to reveal Keith’s face, smeared with tears and more dripping down his cheeks. It broke Regris’ heart to see his little brother look so terrified and upset. 

“Keith? What’s wrong?” Regris asked softly, moving aside the blankets so that Keith wasn’t suffocating under the heat anymore.

A cry of fear at another clap of thunder answered Regris’ question, more tears flowing down Keith’s face.

“Do you want to come back to the rest of us? No one wants you to be alone when you’re so scared.” Regris said. Keith nodded and bit, his breath hitching with another sob. Regris reached forward and snagged Keith under his arms, lifting him up. Keith instantly clung to him like what the green paladin had said was a ‘koala’. He had no idea what exactly a koala was, but according to Pidge, it was an animal of Earth that clung to trees in similar ways that Keith was clinging to him. Regris carried Keith over to another part of the nest, pouring him a glass of water from a small pitcher of water that had been placed there.

“Before we go to the others, I want you to drink some of this, okay? All that crying is sure to dehydrate you.” Regris said gently, handing the glass to Keith. He kept a hand placed gently on the glass to steady it when he noticed how much Keith’s hands were trembling. Keith drank about half of the glass before looking at Regris, jumping and letting out another sob when thunder sounded yet again.

Regris carried Keith over to the bundle of Galra. Kolivan stirred and looked over at the two, his eyes flicking between Keith and Regris is questioning confusion.

“Keith is scared of the storm and hid under a bunch of blankets instead of telling us he was scared.” Regris explained, lowering Keith into the mess of limbs and settling down himself. Kolivan frowned and wrapped an arm around Keith, coaxing the youngest member of the pack onto his lap. He licked across Keith’s cheeks, wiping away the tears tracks that had dried on his skin. 

“Why didn’t you come to us, kit? We would have helped you if you said something, you know that, don’t you?’ Kolivan said gently. Keith sniffed and buried his face in Kolivan’s neck, breathing deeply. He didn’t get much of the unique scent that Kolivan had, but it was a comforting action. He gently traced the design on Kolivan’s sleep shirt as he mumbled out an answer, too quiet for even Kolivan’s enhanced hearing to pick up.

“Can you repeat that, kit? I couldn’t quite hear you.” Kolivan said, his voice soft and encouraging. Keith took a deep breath and jumped when he heard another round of thunder, a sob making its way out of him. The sob effectively awoke the rest of the adult Galra, who sat up at different times as Keith spoke.

“I wasn’t sure if it was normal for Galra to be scared of storms and I know that they have a scientific explanation and they aren’t as scary as they sound and I didn’t want to look… pathetic? For being scared of the storm.” Keith said softly, clinging onto Kolivan like a lifeline. He could feel the three other adults and tell who they were just by how they were trying to comfort him. He could recognize Ulaz as the one who was gently rubbing his neck and upper back, an area that was comforting to be touched on any kit. He could recognize Thace by the slightly panicked touches and grooming anywhere the man could reach. He could recognize Antok because he could feel a long, thin tail stroking at his arm and shoulder, most likely because Ulaz and Thace had monopolized the space closest to Keith and he couldn’t get close enough to use his hands.

“Oh, kit, we never think you pathetic for being scared. Even if it was not common to be scared of storms. We would not turn you away because you were scared.” Thace said. Keith whimpered and pressed into Thace’s body, trying to hide himself away from the pounding rain on the window. A particularly loud clap of thunder caused Regris to screech and dart out of Kolivan’s line of sight. However, he was quickly located when he heard a soft ‘oof, easy there, kit, there’s no need to be so insistent.’ from Antok.

“‘Tok? Is Regris with you?” Ulaz asked, pulling Keith into his arms.

“Yes, he is. Poor thing got spooked by the thunder.” Antok said. He could feel Regris trembling against him, holding back tears. Antok was, of course, proud of the fact that Regris was so willing to help his little brother, but he hated the fact that Regris tried to act like everything was okay, when it so clearly wasn’t for him. He himself couldn’t keep count of how many times he had clung to Kolivan, trembling in fright.

“Well, we have two kits who have that reaction. Kolivan, is there a second pair of the sound blocking headphones in your bag?” Thace asked. Kolivan always had a bag with him whenever they were staying on a planet for an extended time. Not only did it contain clothes and other such necessities, it also included a basic first aid kit, cold and flu medicine, an item that had a similar function to what Keith called an ‘epi-pen’, snacks in case meetings dragged on and anyone needed a snack, and any other things Kolivan thought necessary. This particular planet was known for harsh thunderstorms, and he had packed sound-blocking headphones for Regris due to his known fear of thunder, and a second pair for Keith just in case he got scared as well. Kolivan was glad he had packed it now, slipping the second pair over Keith’s ears and the original pair over Regris’ ears. 

The four adults gathered around the two kits, letting them seek comfort however they needed to feel better. Regris was tucked against Thace’s chest, a hand tangled in Ulaz’s shirt. Keith nestled in the room next to Antok’s arm, a hand clutching onto the tail and the other hand latched onto Kolivan’s braid.

Though knowing that they were stuck for the foreseeable future unless they wanted to endure the almost physical pain of listening to their kits whine and whimper until until they came back, the four adults were content. Their kits were safe and protected, relaxed against them as they slept. They knew, then more than ever before, that they would protect their kits from everything they could.


End file.
